Rock music in 1992 saw a strong revival of grunge, Britpop, industrial and alternative rock styles such as grunge resurfacing through Britpop revivalist bands and industrial pioneers. Additionally, third wave ska revival and swing revival saw their revival flourishing again.
Harvey Danger earned its sole chart hit with this catchy, introspective grunge classic by Harvey Danger. Their version of Neil Young’s ballad “Strange Brew” is melodically direct yet emotionally moving.
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an influential rock group throughout the ’80s, which they marked by their transition from no wave to avant-rock as evident on their 1988 double album Daydream Nation which received universal acclaim as a groundbreaking work of music.
Bad Moon Rising expanded their repertoire by including more improvised segments during concerts – becoming more known for their creative performances between songs than Husker Du and Black Flag, garnering critical acclaim and building up a following that rivaled those of both.
In 1989, they signed with DGC Records and recruited producer Butch Vig to refine their sound while keeping true to its chaotic aesthetic. On Sister, the band paid homage to Seattle grunge rockers such as Mudhoney and Nirvana while remaining true to its own free-form style; this resulted in widespread praise and influence on alternative rock.
The Cure
Though they didn’t invent goth music, The Cure made it one of rock music’s biggest subcultures. Robert Smith became synonymous with this subgenre through his shy, deeply melancholic face and all-black wardrobe; their band’s transition from Gothic rock to more varied alternative-rock and pop helped broaden their audience reach.
Not a high school in the late ’80s was without its share of “Cure kids”, decked out in band T-shirts and dark clothes ready to transport themselves into The Cure songs depicted therein. Though The Cure haven’t released an album since 2001, their influence can still be found across rock music genres: Indie, emo, Soundcloud rap and mall punk all owe something back to this influential group and it’s time we recognized this influential band with our Hall of Fame treatment.
Los Lobos
The band’s combination of acoustic and electric guitars creates a soulful sound that is both powerful and moving, as the lyrics depict one woman’s struggle through hardship and loss while celebrating music’s ability to uphold and inspire.
Los Lobos was formed in 1974 by high school students David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas and Conrad Lozano from high school in Southern California and quickly rose to become one of the premier acts in American Southwest music culture. Their sound blended regional Mexican styles such as mariachi and ranchera with Tex-Mex and Zydeco influences, folk and blues influences and blues sounds with Steve Berlin on saxophone making up their signature sound that represented American Southwest cultures through music.
From their 1987 album By the Light of the Moon through 1996’s Colossal Head and 2010’s Tin Can Trust, Los Lobos refined and deconstructed their music through studio experimentation to shift sonic shapes. Leveraging effects such as distortion and noise to transform them into creative tools.
Arrested Development
In 1992, hip hop was in transition. Public Enemy had become obsolete while Dr. Dre hadn’t released The Chronic yet; yet Arrested Development’s 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of… proved melody could work alongside hip hop; its songs such as the hit single “Tennesse” earned high rankings on both Village Voice Pazz & Jop critic’s poll and rock charts.
Zingalamaduni wasn’t quite as successful and the group disbanded shortly afterward, though Speech went on to release some solo albums before reconvening with them again in 2000 and remains active today. They may no longer command mainstream audiences like before but their influence can still be felt across comedy as an artform; for example, using multiple comedy styles helped launch actors like Michael Cera into stardom.
Alice In Chains
Alice In Chains turned heads when they elevated the Seattle sound with 1992 follow-up Dirt. Songs like “Rooster”, a story of drug addiction and military service which could rival any narrative by Bruce Springsteen himself, stand as testament to the band’s high level of dramatic tension and teenage-angst.
Alice In Chains was an instrumental masterpiece that combined Black Sabbath-esque backbeat heavyness with alternative heavy rock tendencies and vocal harmony, setting the standard for grunge music. Subsequent albums by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, R.E.M. Ride and Gin Blossoms also incorporated elements from Alice In Chains sound; Nirvana released subsequent albums featuring elements of Alice In Chains sound as well. Their acoustic LP Sap was an especially crucial one as it marked Layne Staley- Jerry Cantrell vocal duels that would continue for their remaining three studio releases.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an iconic band that transcended all genres, and one that set a trend to prove you could still be cool while being successful. Michael Stipe’s poetic lyrics and Peter Buck’s guitar riffs, always just barely audible in the mix, cemented them as America’s premier rock group.
Chronic Town to Monster, New Adventures in Hi-Fi and Up was the band’s most prolific period; all four albums came close to platinum status with Document containing The One I Love becoming one of their biggest selling singles ever by 1987. U2 had once again challenged them as global rock act.
Few rock groups could match Sonic Youth for producing such an outstanding catalogue from 1982 through 1998; no contemporary American group could even come close.
Body Count
As protests against police brutality continue to gain steam, it seems odd that Body Count’s 1992 album Cop Killer is not available for streaming on Spotify or iTunes. Recorded at LA’s One On One studio by late drummer Beatmaster V and bassist Mooseman with rapper Ice-T lending vocals; angry socially conscious lyrics weren’t the focus – punk thrash metal was instead featured prominently; reviews varied but songs such as KKK Bitch or Cop Killer managed to combine music, message and swearing into one loud musical assault that resonated through its messages and musical assault!
After the controversy surrounding Cop Killer erupted, Sire/Warner quickly dismissed them from their roster – yet when listening to this album without viewing it as racist it’s impossible not to appreciate Body Count’s music as powerful and enjoyable.
Ice Cube
Popular music predicted much of the anger that would eventually boil over into urban warfare during 1992’s Los Angeles Riots, such as Ice Cube’s Death Certificate rap album which perfectly expressed frustrations and intra-racial strife that contributed to rioting; after taking a brief hiatus from music Cube rejoined former N.W.A groupmate Dre for G-funk subgenre leader’s Music To Drive By album while veteran NYC hip hop veteran MC Eiht made her mark through Positive K which featured powerful beats which helped escalate urban warfare among participants in Los Angeles; at that time MC Eiht made his mark through Positive K and similarly intense beats on his solo project; one year after LA rioting began, popularity music helped predict much of its violent outcome MC Eiht made his own impactful contribution with Positive K’s released on positive K and Positive K in order to lead it.
Neneh Cherry made waves with her debut Homebrew album. Buddy X, from this track, criticizes trifling lovers and toxic masculinity; while DJ Pooh’s slick instrumental plays as the backdrop to a lyrical montage depicting an ideal day in South Central L.A.: momma cooking pork-free breakfast; beating brothers using Jordan-like basketball skills on court; and getting declared a pimp.
Dement
DeMent, an eclectic singer whose music spans folk, country and gospel genres, has released four albums since her 2012 debut. Sing the Delta is her fourth full-length offering and is an emotive journey through nature that feels as if created inside an RV in remote wilderness locations.
At a time when most scientists considered sleep to be an inconsequential waste of brain cells, Dement began moonlighting as a sleep researcher and helped uncover its rich drama. With his mentor physiologist Nathaniel Kleitman, Dement discovered abnormal REM sleep (a precursor to dreaming) as well as creating multiple sleep latency tests which became diagnostic tools for narcolepsy. Dement also established one of the first sleep disorders clinics at Stanford University in 1970 as well as writing several consumer-targeted books about its subject matter while teaching his undergraduate course entitled “Sleep and Dreams.” He still teaches this undergraduate course today!
Megadeth
Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth shortly after leaving Metallica in 1983, becoming one of the pioneers of thrash metal music. Credited alongside Slayer and Anthrax for helping popularize this subgenre of metal music, with fast tempos, fast lyrics that tackle death, destruction, war, politics and religion themes, technically proficient styles that incorporate complex arrangements and riffs and popularized it further.
Rusted Pieces was released with a music video directed by Penelope Spheeris to showcase LA heavy metal scene at that time. At first, Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson auditioned multiple drummers until Nick Menza was hired; once this happened, touring and music videos followed suit shortly afterwards. Over time however, their popularity grew significantly during early 1990s grunge scene dominance as well as in Japan where they gained success as an act.